Tagged: David Herndon

There were many positives for the Phillies in last night’s 7-2 win over the Rockies. Cole Hamels returned to form and pitched extremely well. John Mayberry Jr. continued his hot streak with 2 extra base hits, including a homer. And Carlos Ruiz had 3 RBI and 2 hits, also including a homer. Even better, the Phillies finally got through a game without committing an error.

But all those positives were overshadowed by some overwhelming negatives. First, the lost of injuries for the Phillies keeps getting scarier. Laynce Nix had a setback in his recovery, possibly reinjuring the same leg. David Herndon underwent Tommy John surgery and is out for the year.

However, the biggest bomb dropped when it was announced before the game that rookie infielder Freddy Galvis would be suspended 50-games for violating the MLB drug policy. He apparently tested positive for a trace amount of clostebol, an anabolic steroid.

Between this year and last, the Phillies have gone from first to worst. They have seen their All-Star players and important role players decimated by injuries. This is simply not what this team needed to hear right now.

To say this is disappointing is an extreme understatement. Galvis was the one bright light in an otherwise dreary season for this team and now, that has been taken away as well. I suppose the good news is that he can serve the suspension now, while he is in a back brace on the DL. He probably would have missed at least 50 games anyway.

I do not pretend to know whether Galvis is innocent or guilty. Although, you would think if he was juicing he would have hit a lot better than .226 with 15 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs and 24 RBIs. We will probably never know for sure.

There are several reports in reputable medical journals that say this steroid can show up in urine in trace amounts after ingesting contaminated meat or after having “relations” with a woman who was using a particular cream for a “female condition” that contains clostebol. In other countries, cattle are injected with this drug to “beef” them up, literally.

Even chicken are sometimes injected with steroids. Studies in that area produced similar results, showing trace levels of the drug in those who consumed the meat.

So I suppose you have to be a vegetarian, Catholic priest with some mad baseball skills in order to avoid a false-positive test result?

And this is why I say we will never know for sure. There are too many variables as we have seen in previous cases where athletes tested positive after taking a tainted substance. Former Phillie J.C. Romero is a good example. He won a law suit against the company who made supplements that were laced with a banned substance which was not on the label. But even though MLB now acknowledges this issue, Romero still had to serve the suspension and will forever be judged unfairly in public opinion.

This by no means exonerates Galvis, but it does, once again, call into question the legitimacy of MLB’s drug policy. A more recent example is Ryan Braun of the Brewers, who got off on a technicality involving the “transport” of his sample.

Now that MLB has made announcement about Galvis, we know that either there was no appeal or he already lost the appeal. It is MLB policy to wait until that process is done before making the official announcement.

Regardless of what did or did not actually occur here, Galvis’ reputation is now mud. And that is a real shame for a kid with so much potential. And it is especially a shame for a fan base that has been desperately searching for a small glimmer of hope for this stumbling, last place team.

The Phillies returned home to play the 1st of 2 exhibition games on Monday night in preparation for Opening Day on Thursday. I had a very nice seat 22 rows behind home plate, but sadly, my camera died a few weeks ago. So I apologize in advance for the crappy photos I took with an old camera while the good one is getting repaired.

Joe Blanton started the game and actually looked pretty good. His fastball had some zip which made his change-up effective. He actually had a no-hitter going through 3 1/3 innings. That may not seem like much, but considering he missed most of last season with a bum elbow, this is serious improvement. The Red Phanatic agreed:

During the game, we saw some old faces, like Placido Polanco who appears healthy, Hunter Pence and Jimmy Rollins:

And there were many new faces, like Juan Pierre and Ty Wiggington. Pierre looked good at the top of the line-up with a double and a stolen base.

But the big moment of the evening was Jim Thome’s first at-bat in his return to Citizen’s Bank Park. He received a hearty ovation although he played it cool.

Before the game, I wandered the stadium looking for the “mystery” player sightings that were promised. I found Juan Pierre playing a running game with some kids, John Mayberry Jr. signing autographs at the kids play area and David Herndon serving soda.

None of the players I ran into would sign autographs according to their body guards/escorts. When I got home, I saw other guys on TV who did sign, like Cole Hamels and Charlie Manuel. Hey Phillies…what’s up with that? Even more annoying, Pierre was standing alone waiting to get in that running game when NO ONE except me recognized him…being the ONLY person to ask for an autograph, you’d think they would have let him do it for ONE person. Same with Herndon…only one there…no autographs.

So thank God for Ricky Botallico! The former Phillies closer not only signed autographs (for a LOT of people) but he asked me to take a photo with him! That’s right…I did not ask. He did. I cannot remember the last time I saw any current or former player volunteer for a photo. He made my day…Ricky, you are the best!

Here is the rest of my Photo Album from the game. I hope to have a real camera again soon!

Game one of today’s doubleheader against the Mets was highlighted by a superb performance from Cole Hamels, more crappy offense and a failure of basic math skills. Hamels went seven strong innings, allowing just a solo homer. Sadly, the homer was hit by Val Pascucci who had not hit a long ball since 2004. Pascucci spent 2008 spring training with the Phillies.

The Phillies offense sucked again against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. I am not sure what the R.A. stands for, but I am going with “Really Annoying.” Mr. Annoying had a no-hitter going into the 7th inning when Shane Victorino finally ended the humiliation with a double.

Before that, the only base runner for the Phillies was Carlos Ruiz who worked a walk in the 6th, although the home plate umpire tried really hard not to allow it. On ball 4, Ruiz trotted to first as ump John Hirschbeck called him back, swearing it was only ball 3. Everyone else in the ballpark had apparently passed 1st grade math and knew it was ball 4. The umps actually had to hold a meeting to convince Hirschbeck that he sucked at basic math. It was yet another shiny, happy moment for MLB umpires everywhere.

Moving on, Ryan Howard played in his first game since having a cortisone shot in his left ankle. He singled in that same inning to score Victorino, which was the only offense in the game for the Phillies. Howard also made a sliding grab on a foul ball where his right foot smashed into the wall along the first base line. The right foot…not the left…whew!

After that little adventure, Brad Lidge gave up the go-ahead run to the Mets in the 8th, spoiling the day for Hamels. The Phillies took a 2-1 loss for their seventh straight. This team is giving me a headache.

But why stop there? More sucky baseball was yet to follow. In game 2 of the doubleheader, Joe Blanton pitched two good innings to start off, giving the false illusion that the Phillies might actually have a shot to win a game.

David Herndon quickly tried to stomp on all our hopes of a positive evening when he put two runners on base in the 3rd. However, a long fly ball with two outs looked liked the savior of the inning. But Hunter Pence put a quick end to that silly dream as he dropped the ball and two runs scored.

Pence was already having a bad day in his first start since being rested with knee issues. In the first inning, he hit into a double play with no outs and the bases loaded. The Phillies did not score.

As the 3rd inning disaster continued, Herndon walked another batter and Kyle Kendrick had to be brought in. Kendrick did little to help the situation, giving up two straight hits and 3 more runs. The total for the inning was 5 unearned runs gift wrapped for the Mets. And all that happened right after the Phils offense scratched and clawed for 3 runs combined in the 2nd and 3rd innings.

Kendrick, not having sucked badly enough, gave up one more run in the 4th, making those 3 Phillies runs seem totally useless. The 6-3 lead handed to the Mets would stick for the final score as the offense basically gave up after that horrid 3rd inning.

The Phillies have now lost 8 straight since clinching the division title. But these games don’t count, right? Some fans says, no worries, it does not count. Other say that bad baseball can become a habit, which will be heard to break going into the playoffs. So, after sucking pretty badly this past week, can the Phillies just flip the switch come playoff time next Saturday? There are four regular season games left, so I guess only time will tell.

Well, there went five hours of my life I wish to forget. The Phillies said goodbye to SunLife Stadium in Miami today with a gut-wrenching 14-inning 5-4 loss to the Marlins, played under protest from the Phillies. It was another wasted Roy Halladay start.

The big controversy began when umpire Joe West decided to make up the rules as he went along. In the 6th inning, Hunter Pence hit a double that should have left the Phillies with two men on base and no outs. Instead, West decided to use instant replay on a ball that he himself ruled a double. Replay, according to the baseball rules, is only to be used on potential home runs.

West came back after 13 minutes of “reviewing” and ruled Pence out due to fan interference. While those idiot fans did attempt to interfere, the play should not have been reviewable in the first place. The other problem is that West assumed the ball would have been caught had the fans not intruded. But on the video replay, it is far from a sure thing that outfielder Bryan Petersen would have caught it. In fact, his glove was already closed by the time the ball reached him.

The Phillies then announced a formal protest of the game and manager Charlie Manuel was ejected for arguing. After the game, Manuel stated the same point, that the ball would not have been caught (per Ryan Lawrence, DelCo Times). West claims Manuel asked for a replay; Manuel sternly denies this.

So now it is a game of he said (Manuel), she said (West, running from the press afterwards ;o). If MLB determines that a rule was broken by West, the game could be restarted with the Pence double at a later date. But seriously, odds of that happening are like ZERO. MLB has refused to hold umpires accountable for anything and I do not see that changing now, sad as that may be.

The rally was killed after that call, but the Phillies did score two runs on a Ryan Howard single in the 7th to take the lead. That lead was promptly erased as rookie Michael Schwimer got tossed into the fire at the bottom of the 7th. I feel sorry for Schwimer; this was not a situation where a rookie should have been sent in to hold a slim 4-3 lead after all the drama of the previous inning. The pressure had to be immense and Schwimer wound up giving up the tying run.

What happened next is what the Phillies should really be ashamed of. They played seven straight innings of scoreless baseball, dragging the game through 14 innings. As a team, the Phillies left 11 men on base, went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and totaled only 10 hits in 14 innings.

Worse than that, the bullpen kept them in the game and the offense did nothing to support them. The biggest victim was David Herndon, who imploded on Saturday night and handed the game to the Marlins. But tonight, he pitched almost four full innings with an amazing effort. He worked in and out of jams and kept pitching tough even as he tired. Herndon escaped bases loaded jams twice, five intentional walks and a badly fielded ball at third that would have shortened his outing.

Still, Herndon persisted and redeemed himself from Saturday’s disaster. That his offense could not score him one single run during all that was ridiculous. Chase Utley went 0-for-7; Pence ended 0-for-6, although he was robbed of a double; Shane Victorino had only one hit and a walk in six at-bats. And most of that was against the Marlins sub-par bullpen. Yuck :O(

The game ended with another bases loaded jam for Herndon who walked the winning run in just as his arm was about to fall off. And that happened after some questionable calls from the home plate ump who seemed to decided that 14 innings were enough for him.

While all that really sucked…a lot…tomorrow is a new day and the Braves are coming to town. These next three days are the time for the Phillies to drop the hammer on the NL East. So perhaps the offense tonight was saving up the hits for the Braves? Hope so….game 1 begins at 7:05pm Monday night!

Tonight in Florida, it looked like the soggy north east weather had followed the Phillies south. Downpours delayed the start of tonight’s game against the Marlins by about an hour and a half. It was the third rain delay / postponement between the Phillies and Marlins in the course of just a week.

The game began with a light, but steady rain, still pouring down. And while the rain chased away many of the few fans who were actually at the game, Cole Hamels stuck it out and pitched fairly well.

Although he had some control issues, Hamels got through seven innings allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. All three runs for the Marlins were scored on home runs.

But Hamels made up for his pitching mistakes at the plate. In the second inning, Wilson Valdez tripled to score two runs and then Hamels followed up with an RBI-single. Hamels duplicated the feat in his next at-bat in the fourth. So he ended the night with two hits and two RBI. Not too shabby for a pitcher.

Unfortunately, the scoring ended with Hamels’ 4th inning RBI. Even less fortunate than that was a bad pitching decision by manager Charlie Manuel. He sent Antonio Bastardo out to pitch the eighth after Bastardo had just pitched almost three innings in the last two games. While Bastardo has been superb, he has also been overused. And that was obvious tonight when he walked the first two batters he faced.

Manuel pulled Bastardo after the walks and put in David Herndon. And that move also proved to be costly. Herndon has been much better lately, but he is almost always better when he starts an inning as opposed to taking on inherited runners. And just like that, Herndon imploded. He gave up three home runs for a total of five in the inning, giving the Marlins a huge 8-4 lead.

The way the Phillies offense had played all night, it was clear that a four run deficit might be nearly impossible to overcome. When the only guys hitting are your pitcher and the 7 & 8-hole hitters, it is probably not going to be a great night offensively.

So although Hamels left the game with a lead, the bullpen handed the game to the Marlins. The Phillies lost 8-4. The only good news is that the Braves also lost tonight.

The Phillies still have a chance to win the series tomorrow afternoon at 1:10pm. Roy Halladay will pitch.

After losing two of three to the Nationals and enduring three rain delays in four games, seeing the Mets come to town had to be a relief for the Phillies. And they wasted no time taking out their frustrations on this fourth place team.

Pitcher Cliff Lee continued his incredible month of August by tossing seven innings of shut-out ball. The Mets managed only three hits off the lefty and struck out seven times. Those K’s put Lee well above his career high 185 strike-outs in a season; he now has 191 with 36 games to go, which is about seven more starts.

Lee also had some fun at the plate. He singled in the second inning and hit two other balls very hard that missed going out of the park by only a few feet. Lee was having so much fun with the bat, that manager Charlie Manuel actually let him hit in the bottom of the seventh instead of a pinch hitter, knowing he was not going back out to pitch the next inning. There is something you do not see every day.

Of course, having a 10-0 lead made giving Lee another at-bat an easy decision. Because prior to the seventh inning, the Phillies offense smacked around Mets pitching like they were a minor league team.

Both John Mayberry Jr. and Hunter Pence hit two-run homers in the game. Mayberry led the team with three RBI. Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino had two RBI apiece as well. And in his first game back off the DL without making a single rehab start, Placido Polanco had two hits and a walk. The only starter without a hit was Chase Utley, who was taken out of the game before the seventh along with Ryan Howard to give them some extra rest.

The Phillies held onto the 10-0 lead with David Herndon pitching the final two innings. And the Mets tread wearily back to the clubhouse, knowing there were still two games to go in this series.

Injury Update

Rollins and Polanco swapped spots on the DL Monday night. Also, Mayberry played left field on Monday because Raul Ibanez had a sore groin. This prompts the question, what exactly is going on with all the groin injuries?

Rollins is out with a right groin strain. Polanco had a sports hernia, also related to the groin area. Now Ibanez has a sore groin too? And let us not forget poor Carlos Ruiz who sat out several games after getting hit with a foul ball in the groin.

This is a disturbing trend. Perhaps an investment in some iron underwear would help? Or maybe the Phillies need to call a witch doctor to exorcise the demon that has seemingly cursed the Phillies’ groins.

Ok, so it is likely just a weird coincidence and groin strains are a common sports injury. It is just odd to see them all happen in the span of only two weeks. With any luck, Rollins and Ibanez will be feeling better very soon.

The Phillies began the game against the Diamondbacks last night without four of their starting players. After pleading his three game suspension down to two games, Shane Victorino began that suspension last night. And then Ryan Howard sat out with a sore hand and Carlos Ruiz was benched with a sore groin. And of course, Placido Polanco is on the DL.

But the lack of star power in the line-up had little effect on this Phillies team, which is strong from top to bottom. Rookie Vance Worley started the game and pitched three very solid innings before the rain began. He did not allow a run and gave up only one hit.

The offense gave Worley support early, scoring one run on a Wilson Valdez double in the 2nd. Then in the 3rd, John Mayberry Jr. came up big again with a monster 2-run homer. It was Mayberry’s 10th homer of the year, which in limited at-bats, is very impressive.

Then suddenly the skies opened up and flooded the stadium as the grounds crew rushed to cover the field. What appeared might be a short, 30 minute rain delay turned into two and a half hours.

By that time, Worley could not go back out and pitch so David Herndon took over. Herndon has been given a lot of grief from the fans this year after he got off to a rocky start. But in his last 22 games going back to May, Herndon is pitching at a 2.00 ERA. He figured out why he was having issues in April and made the adjustment.

In this game against the D-Backs, Herndon pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. In the 5th inning, he struck out the side. Herndon has really improved his game. Michael Stutes, on the other hand, is watching the scales slowly tip downward and out of his favor.

Stutes gets all the praise because he got off to a very good start, unlike Herndon. Plus it does not hurt that he is adorable, right ladies? So Stutes has gotten a pass in situations that Herndon has not.

But last night Stutes was visibly upset after allowing a home run in the 8th inning to the first batter. Charlie Manuel was seen in the dugout consoling Stutes, patting him on the back as he held his head in his hands in defeat.

Why is Stutes so upset after a solo homer? Because he too recognizes that things are beginning to go downhill for him. In his last 12 games, Stutes is pitching at an ERA of 5.17. His ERA has risen every month since ending May with a 2.38 ERA. His total ERA is now up to 3.40.

Stutes, like a lot of rookies in the same position, is starting to struggle. It could be a combination of many factors like a lack of experience, teams knowing better what to expect from him and being slightly overworked. Stutes has pitched a lot and, especially for a rookie, this can take its toll.

Hopefully for Stutes, he can make an adjustment and work his way back, like Herndon has done. But in the meantime, he may spend a lot of time being frustrated until he figures it out.

The one run Stutes allowed was the only run of the night for the D-Backs and the Phillies went on to win by a 4-1 score. The Phillies, still holding the best record in baseball, became the first team to reach 80 wins on the season.

And the reason why the Phillies continue to have success is simple. Like I mentioned earlier, they are solid in every aspect of the game. More importantly, role players like Mayberry, Valdez and Herndon, continue to come through in big situations. So even with four starters out and a rookie pitcher, they continue to win.

It is a good time to be a Phillies fan.

The Nationals are up next; game time tonight is 7:05pm with Roy Oswalt pitching.